Christians in China love to share the Gospel of Christ with others, but the lack of Chinese Bibles is a significant problem because after people become new believers, few have Chinese Bibles to deepen their faith. As a result, they are open to the false teaching, cults, and heresies left over from the Cultural Revolution. Even amid these challenges, however, people like Sister Rose are bringing Chinese Bible study to new Christians in order to deepen their faith and to impact the growth and depth of Christianity in China.Sister Rose is a kind, elderly woman with a heart for sharing Jesus Christ with China’s youth. Her town is known for academic and cultural events – a lasting effect of China’s Cultural Revolution of decades ago. Rose is also a Bible League-trained Christian in China working with the college students attending her local university. Despite many cultural opportunities, Rose knows that more is needed for the youth to truly thrive.
As with many pockets of Christians in China, Rose had identified the lack of quality Bible teaching in her university town. For those students who were seeking Jesus Christ and His Gospel through Bible study, many were disappointed because they were not being equipped to study God’s Word and thus, found it difficult to apply Scripture to their lives. "The teaching of Biblical Truth is poor in my community” Rose explains. "I found that [the students] were lacking in life experiences, and that they had little idea of the Gospel," she explains. "They didn’t know enough of God’s Word to distinguish heresy from Truth."
So Rose decided to start a Bible study with some of the college students and help them learn how to follow Jesus as Christians in China. "I give the students Chinese Bible study books and help them understand God’s purpose and explain about being consecrated to walk on the road of the Cross," she says. "They are happy to receive these precious materials. Otherwise they don’t know that believing in Jesus means following Him."
As she disciples the students through Bible study, Rose finds opportunities to share with them from her own testimony as a Christian in China during the Cultural Revolution. In return, sometimes the students feel comfortable enough to confide their own struggles as Christians in China as well. "When I share about the Bible, I tell them of my time during the Cultural Revolution in China," Rose explains. "One young girl was especially touched because she had also experienced inquisition when she tried to preach the Gospel to her classmates."
As with other Christians in China, Rose has experienced how difficult it is to break the chains of the Cultural Revolution’s brainwashing. But God’s Word is faithful, and Rose is blessed by the testimonies Christians in China now growing in their own walk with Jesus Christ as the result of her ministry to college students in China. "After we completed the Bible studies, [one student] told me my experience was very helpful and inspiring for her life’s journey. So much so that she is now willing to dedicate herself to the Lord, to glorify and testify for Him. Praise God!" Please pray with us for Rose, and for Believers just like her, as she shares the Gospel, disciples young Believers and impacts the growth and depth of Christianity in China.
